Originally published at: https://www.clearancejobsblog.com/dea-drug-use-policy-for-potential-applicants/
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is responsible for enforcing compliance with the Controlled Substances Act, thus, their threshold for tolerance of illegal or experimental drug use for job aplicants is much lower than other federal agencies, and this includes the use of marijuana or THC products. Currently, the DEA timeline policy on past drug use…
I’ve lived in San Diego for 20 years, and have worked FT as a software engineer for more than 25 years. I have a Secret clearance and passed Security+ about a year ago. I’m also a few minutes away from the large Navy facility (NIWC). I’ve worked there for 3 contracts (the first one, after a few years was interrupted by Covid).
I’ve seen marijuana voted YES for medicinal purposes, and then more recently as a fully legal substance (in California). I’m not as young as I used to be (who isn’t?), and am very healthy other than a bit of insomnia.
The best thing is to take a hit or two of pot and then I can get a good night’s sleep.
I’ve never been asked to take a drug test until I received an offer a few months ago. Very good offer - I accepted and started on-boarding. A few weeks later I received notification to take the test. I purchased a kit, “guaranteed to work”, followed the instructions and still failed the test. I understand it’s still illegal at the Federal level but there should be some recourse.
I can walk into a dozen dispensaries and buy enough to get some sleep, totally legally.
There’s probably nothing I can do other than quit for at least a month and deal with the insomnia. There are many navy contractor jobs in this area. I’ve had 3, but now I don’t know if a test is required and don’t want to apply if that’s the case.
An comments, suggestions, etc. would be welcome.
-Mick
Yeah you’re still going to end up having to report the use. And it sounds like you’re planning on hiding it.
I get it, the law/rules on THC are dumb, but the litmus test is “will you follow them anyway”.
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